Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms



tion.

Mme-Lease- PETER SCHULER, OF MORRLS, INDIANA.

Letters Patent No. 85,616, dated January 5, 1869.

IMPROVEIENT IN BREGH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Ptent and making part of the Bama.

To all whom 'it-may conce/m:

Be it known that I, PETER SCHULER, of Morris, in the county 'of Ripley, and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,

clear, and 'exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in irearms, of that class which are commonly termed needle-guns; and

It consists in a novel'construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully shown and' described, whereby simplicity of construction, and rapidity in loading and firing, combined with safety,'are obtained.

yIn the accompanying sheet of drawings- Figure 1, Sheet No. 1, is a side view of my inven- Fgure 2, a side view ofa portion ofthe same, with a certain lever detached, in order to exhibit mechanism pertainingto said lever. l l

Figure 3, Sheet No. 2, a longitudinal section` ofthe same, 'taken in the line n: a', iig.

Figure 4, a'tiansverse section of the same, taken in thelineyy,fig.3.

Figure 5, a side view of a portion of the same, opposite to the side shown in fig. -1

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondingarts. p A represents the stock of the fire-arm, and B, the barrel thereof. l

O is a metal chamber, secured in the stock A, at the rear end of the barrel, the front end of C being screwed on 'the rear end of B, as shown clearly in 3.

gIn the front part of this metal chamber 0, directly at the rear of the barrel B, there is fitted transversely a breech-cylinder, D, the journals'of which have their gs in the sides of the chamber O.

`This breech-'cylinder is hollowed out at its centre, so that when the cylinder is turned in such a position that the concave ofthe hollow will be uppermost, or the nncnt part, a, ofthe cylinder be lowermost, as shown in blue tint in iig. 3, free access will be had ,forfthe insertion of a cartridge into therear end of the barrel B, and when said cylinder is turned in such a position that the-nucut part, a, of the cylinder is in a vertical position, the

" rear end ofthe barrel will be closed, as shown in red in `gThe wayjn which this breech-cylinder is turned willV bepresently explained. n

The uncut portion a of the breech-cylinder has a whole, b, made through it, the use of which will be presently shown. l A

DX represents a telescopic tube, composed of two parts, c d, the front part of d being fitted within c, as shown clearly in grl.

This tube DX is fitted in a proper opening in the 'rear part of the chamber C, and it extends through the back end of C, as shown in fig. 3.

To' the light-hand side of the rear part c ofthe tube DX there is attached a longitudinal rib, E, (see g. 1,)

i and to the outer side of this rib there is attached'by a screw, f, one end of an arm, F, the opposite end of said end of which is bentinward, and cut or filed, so as to form two projectionsj j', one of which, j', is longer than the otheiyi, both projections passing through an oblong'slot, k, in the leverG.

The long projection j' lits in a semi-annular slot, I, made in the outer side of the chamber O, concentric with the journal t', and underneath it, (see iig. 2,) and one-half of said slot I has an inclined inner surface or bottom, l, the elevated end m of which is at the centre of slot I, and forms an abutment at the. adjoining end, of the other part, n, of the slot, which part n is also inclined from the abutment m toward .the opposite end.

The outer surface of the jom'nal 'i isa cam, which is formed of a curved inclined plane or surface, o, and a recess,'p, whichf is at the elevated end of o.

The spring H, with its. projections, and the semiannular slot I, with its inclined surface, form a means by which the lever G is connected with and disconnected from the cylinder D, when desired. A

On the other joumal t of the cylinder D, (see iig. 5,) there -s secured a circular disk, J, .the periphery of which is notched, so as to form two shoulders rr which, inconnection with a pin, 8at the left-l1and side of O, seive as a stop fo'r the breech-cylinder, preventing it from moving beyond a proper position in either direction..

i K represents the needle, which explodes'the cartridge, when the former is stuckvby the hammer L.

This needle is fitted loosely in the tube DX, and it has a head, M, on its outer end, beyond the tube, said head having a pendent flange, tx, at its under side, as shown clearly in fig. 3.

On the outer end of the journal t there is fitted a circular plate, N, which is notched at its periph-ery to form two shoulders, t t', as shown in fig. 1, t0-servc, in connection with spn'ngH, as a stop for lever G.

When the lever G is in the position, as shown in blue tint in fig. 1, the piece is in readiness to be discharged, and the drawing, fig. '1, shows the piece. as having been discharged, the hammer L being thrown forward, and consequently in contactwith the head M of the needle, the front end of the cated by arrow 1, the part dof thetube D and needle f Kare 4forced hack, the breech-cylinderD not turning until theA short projection j catches into recess p of journal i, which occurs when G has described an arc of about ninety degrees, and reaches a position about at right angles with the barrel B. A connection being then formed between the lever G1-and the breech-cylinder D, the latter, as the lever G isdrawnback to e position directly reverse to that shown in blue tint in fig. 3. is turned', so that the-uncut part a of A4cylinder D will be undermo'st, and at the same time the tube- D) and needle K will have been drawn fully back.

A. cartridge may new be inserted through an opening in the top of the chamber O, into the rearend ofthe barrel B, and when the leverU'isturned-in a reverse' direction,l or vforward in the direction indicated 'by arrow. 2, thecylinderD is turned toa closedposition, as the lever G isstill connected to the cylinder, the former being disconnected from the latter when the abutment m throws upthe projection j, 'and the shorter projection j' out 'from the recess 1 1;-

T hetube DX. comlriehcesrto move `forward when the levenGisfIirst moved, and the movement of the needle K with it is arrested' by the pendent flange 'of the headf M, coming in contact with a swell, on the'hammer L. This causes the-,needle tobedrawn'backin DX, the extent of its movement before the tube D has' reached the termination of 4its forward movement. It `will be seen that Aas D is drawn back, it'coeks the hammer L," and when the '0' is pulled and theV hammer released, the'latter drives forward the needle K, until its head M comes in contact with the outer end of the part d of the tube, the cartridge being thereby exploded.

'of the chamber C, for' the insertion of the cartridge, may be provided with a cover, P, and that the front part c of the tube D has a slot, u, ri n its lower side,

that c will be moved. forward and backward at th propel' time by the movement of d.

. Having thus described my invention, .What I claim asnew, and desire to secure by Let- 'ters Patent,'is

A.1. The rotating breech-cylinder D, in combination with the lever' G and: the needle-tube D ,when the parts are constructed and arranged to operate by the movement of lever G, substantially as shown and desi'zribed.v y 'f 2. The spring H, attached to lever G, and provided with the projections jj', in combination with the semiannular slot I, inthe outer side of chamber J, provided with `the-@inclined surfaces-,l n, the inclined surface o, and recess p, in the outer surface of the journali of the breech-cylinder'and .the notched disks J N, on the ends of the bearings of cylinder D, all arranged vsubstantially as and for Ithe purpose specified The above specification of my invention signed by me, this 27th day' of July,'1868. PETER SOHU'LER.

'v Witnesses: l ALLEN NIBERT, 4 A

Y AMAND BnANnsruLLnn.

I would remark that the opening in the upper part l through which a pin, e, in d, passes, (see fig. 3,) so 

